


Good Old Days

by jenncho



Category: The Office (US)
Genre: Flirting through a cappela, Future Fic, M/M, Various mentions of other Office characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:53:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26431486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenncho/pseuds/jenncho
Summary: This is something they did now. Call or text with random memories of their time together at Dunder Mifflin.
Relationships: Andy Bernard/Oscar Martinez
Comments: 14
Kudos: 37





	Good Old Days

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where all this is coming from but I'm just gonna go with it. Nothing I write is Beta'd because if I actually had to think about that I'd never post anything.

Oscar sat at his desk reviewing one of the four new bills he was sponsoring when he felt the buzzing of his cell phone in his pocket. He had a pretty good idea who was texting him, but he really needed to finish the last four pages before being inevitably distracted. 

Eleven and a half minutes later his phone started to ring. Oscar shook his head in a mix of amusement and exacerbation at the man’s utter lack of patience. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and quickly reviewed the text message, _‘Dwight brought a mini horse into the office?’_ before accepting the call.

“Real.” He responded in a way of a greeting. “Jim was trying to prove that Stanley wouldn’t notice anything going on around him.”

“That’s right!” Andy exclaimed in relief. “I remembered the horse but I couldn’t remember why it was there.” 

“I’m pretty sure he brought it more than once because I can’t imagine that he wouldn’t have.” Oscar responded as he made a small notation on the left corner of the final page he was reading.

“That is a good enough answer that it’ll allow me to sleep tonight.” 

“Glad I could help.” Oscar said genuinely. 

This is something they did now. Call or text with random memories of their time together at Dunder Mifflin. Sometimes they were real events, and some twisted versions of false recollections. Though usually the ones that weren’t real had details that were close enough to something that had actually happened that they were able to connect it to an event. Those calls were usually the longest as they debated whether or not they should bring a third person into the conversation to get their opinions. They never did though. They had an unspoken rule to keep these conversations to themselves. This had gone on for almost three years now.

While Oscar kept in contact with a few of his former coworkers, Angela and Dwight being the most obvious, his friendship with Andy came as a bit of a surprise to even himself. They reconnected a few years ago when he went to visit Philip ahead of his birthday. Oscar had to go away to Washington DC on business and wouldn’t be able to attend his Godson’s party the following weekend so he promised to drive up to the farm and stay for dinner.

When he arrived at Schrute Farm he waved hello to Mose who was peeking out from the back of a cow and let himself into the house. Instead of the normal chatter of Dwight teaching Philip some life lessons, he was surprised to hear the sounds of banjos from the living room.

“Hello? Angela? Dwight?” Oscar called out as he hung his coat and scarf on the coat rack by the front door. 

“In here.” A voice called out. Oscar walked into the living room where the music had come from and raised his eyebrows in surprise to see Andy sitting next to Philip on the couch, each of them holding a banjo; Philip’s considerably smaller.

“Andy. Hey.” Oscar waved awkwardly. Andy and Philip turned to face him quickly, a huge grin lit up both their faces. Philip hopped off the couch and ran over to Oscar and wrapped his arms around his middle in a tight grip. Oscar tried not to make a pained face as the metal attached to the tips of Philip’s fingers dug into his skin. He pulled back and lifted him onto his hip for a hug. He winced slightly as the young Schrute was almost too big to hold up without some effort.

“Hello Philip. I’ve missed you, too.” Oscar bounced him on his hip. 

“Oscar!” Andy stood and walked over to him and briefly grasped him lightly on the shoulder. “Nice to see you, man.”

“You too, Andy. It’s been a while.” Oscar responded, shifting Philip higher on his hip as he gave the other man a quick once over. 

Andy hadn’t changed much in the few years it had been since he’d last seen him. He was dressed impeccably as always in a pair of navy dress pants and a purple button down. He wasn’t wearing a tie which made sense since Philip was known for his tight grip. He had one or two streaks of grey around his temples, and there were a few extra lines at the corner of his eyes but he looked good, happy even. 

Philip wiggled down and walked back to the couch and brought his banjo over to show Oscar. “Wow. Is this your banjo?” Oscar asked Philip he leaned down to his eye level. Oscar looked over at Andy in question.

“He’s teaching me!” Philip pointed and smiled up at Andy who nodded.

“Why don’t you show Uncle Oscar what we learned today?” Andy said encouragingly. 

Philip looked down at the banjo with intense concentration as he placed his fingers in the correct position. He looked up at Andy who nodded approvingly and then he played a few chords of something that didn’t sound familiar to Oscar but pleasant enough that he knew it was likely a real song.

“Well done!” Oscar smiled brightly at him as he and Andy clapped. 

“Philip, lunch is ready!” Angela called from what Oscar knew to be the direction of the kitchen. Philip handed the banjo and finger picks to Andy and ran after his mother. He should probably follow after him and let Angela know he had arrived but there were still one or two questions lingering.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.” Oscar turned back to Andy who was putting the banjos in their cases. 

“Yeah, interesting story. Mose was playing some old bluegrass records at the end of last year when he was babysitting, and much to Angela’s disdain he really liked the banjo parts. Dwight tried to teach him how to play guitar instead but he got angry that it didn’t sound the same. So after a few tantrums I got a call from Dwight asking if I’d teach Philip to play next time I was in town. Well, he asked in a way that I am still not sure wasn’t mixed with a threat.” Andy said jokingly, but Oscar knew Dwight well enough to know he probably did threaten the man.

“I’ve been making the drive down every weekend since after the holidays.” Andy finished explaining. Oscar was just surprised that this is the first time he’d heard about this. Angela never mentioned it in their monthly calls.

“Threat or not, that’s a really nice thing you’re doing. Philip looks really happy. You’re good with him” Andy shrugged but Oscar noted a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks. 

“He’s a cool little dude.” Andy responded with a shrug.

“He’s really good for his age.” Oscar looked in the direction of the kitchen, a proud smile on his face. 

“Tell me about it. I couldn’t sit still at four let alone pay attention long enough to learn to play an instrument.” Andy placed Philip’s small case in a corner with care. “Some of these kids I talk to at Cornell don’t have half of Philip’s patience, let me tell you.”

“You’re still at Cornell?” Oscar asked curiously. 

“Yeah. I love it.” Andy nodded. “Still in the Admissions office which is sweet. Then about a year ago I was asked to be an official a cappella consultant which made Broccoli Rob **_furious_** with jealousy which was a nice side bonus.”

“That’s really great, Andy. I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks, man. So how about you? How are things with…” Andy stopped and looked over Oscar’s shoulder when he noticed they were no longer alone.

“You made it.” Angela walked in the room and gave Oscar a brief smile which disappeared as she turned to Andy.

“Sorry, traffic was particularly awful getting here.” Oscar smiled back at her and then turned to Andy who was putting his coat on. “You’re not staying?” He looked back and forth between the two exes.

“If traffic is as bad as you say I want to get to Ithaca before the snow hits.” Andy responded awkwardly. 

“Well,” Angela started and folded her hands together. “Thank you and drive safely.” She smiled tightly and left the room. 

“To think she was almost my wife.” Andy whispered in a teasing voice. Oscar let out a surprised laugh and walked with him to the door. 

“You don’t have to go. I’m sure it’ll be fine if you stayed for dinner.” Oscar wasn’t really sure it _would_ be fine, but it seemed like a shame that they didn’t get to talk for more than five minutes. Who was to say when he’d ever run into him again.

“Nah. I’d rather head out while it’s still light out. Last time I made it almost an hour before I realized Mose was hiding in my trunk so…” Oscar nodded in sympathy. A similar thing happened to him last June. 

“It was nice to see you, Andy.” Oscar held his hand out for a shake. He was surprised to find that he actually meant it. 

“You too, C-Span.” Oscar rolled his eyes at the old nickname, but let a small laugh escape as well. Andy took his hand in his and gave it a firm squeeze before securing his banjo case and strap across his shoulder and making his way onto the porch. He stopped as he reached the first step and turned back around to face Oscar.

“You forget something?” Oscar asked as he walked out onto the porch and wrapped his arms around himself as the cool air hit him. Andy put his hand in his inner coat pocket and pulled out his wallet. He pulled a card out and handed it to Oscar who looked down at the crisp white card that read _‘Andrew Bernard, Admissions Officer, Cornell University.’_

“My cell is on the back.” Oscar turned the card around and nodded as he saw the number in blue ink. “If you ever wanted to catch up.” Andy said with a shrug, though his tone implied that he knew Oscar wouldn’t call. And, okay, maybe three years ago he wouldn’t have, but something about the look in his eyes, and the interaction between him and Angela made him want to continue their conversation. 

Making a quick decision Oscar pulled out his own wallet and slid Andy’s card in and pulled out a similar white card. He handed it to a very pleased Andy who looked down at it with a grin. “See ya, Andy.” Oscar made his way back into the house. 

“So long, Senator Martinez.” Andy responded as he held up the card before sliding it into his pocket. To this day Oscar would swear that the shiver that took over him was to do with the cold and not the way Andy said his name.

“And how is your day going, Senator Martinez?” Oscar closed his eyes briefly. He hated to admit that it still did something to him whenever Andy called him that. 

“It was extremely productive until about…” He looked at the clock on the wall briefly. “Fourteen minutes ago.”

“Funny coming from the guy who called me in the middle of a date because he couldn’t remember the color of the horse Ryan proposed to Kelly on.”

“I’d hardly call your date productive.” Andy had been on more than a handful of dates in the last six months and insisted that something was wrong with every single one of them. While it was unfortunate timing on Oscar’s part, Andy deciding to take the call only confirmed what he already knew to be inevitable.

“Well, it could’ve been reproductive if ya catch my drift.” Andy teased.

“Don’t be gross. Besides it was a waste of time because you couldn’t even remember that proposal happening.” Oscar made one last note before making sure the pages were in order and placed them in a folder and into his top desk drawer. 

“Uh, yeah. I was a tiny bit busy being fired in case you forgot.”

 _Hmmm. He had forgotten that bit actually._

“That was terrible of me. I’m sorry for ruining your date.” Oscar apologized.

“It’s fine, your call was probably the most exciting thing to have happened during it.”

“What was it this time? She never heard of Cornell either?” Oscar recalled Andy’s date last month where that exact thing had happened and Andy went on a rant about it for 4 days in a row.

“HeeLARIOUS!” Andy said in an overly exaggerated tone. “I’m going to end up alone for the rest of my life but at least you’ll be amused.”

“Oh, don’t be such a baby. You knew it was a joke.” 

“It was nice… they were… we had a lot in common...” Andy got quiet for a moment as if debating his next words. “There was just no connection, ya know?”

Oscar did know. He had been out on a few failed dates himself recently. In fact, the last time he had met Andy for coffee three months ago he ended up, at Andy’s insistence, asking out the owner of the shop. They met up for a coffee and catch up and were arguing over where or not Oscar had actually cheated during the Fun Run.

“Why would I even do that? I competed in SEVERAL 5K’s that summer!” 

“I saw you! I literally saw you with my own two eyes jump out of a cab with Creed!” Andy’s hands were framing his face like he couldn’t believe the words coming out of Oscar’s mouth. 

“I am insulted at the very insinuation.” Oscar said with a look of distaste. "The blood loss must have gone to your head." Oscar vaguely pointed to Andy's chest area. 

“I cannot believe you’re lying to me right now. You absolutely cheated!”

“If it hadn’t been over ten years since we last spoke, I’d call Gil right now and he’d tell you that we did at least 3 charity 5K’s that summer before we broke up.” Andy frowned and looked around the coffee shop.

“Okay. We’ll agree to disagree then.” Andy took a sip of his tea and made a face as the temperature had gone lukewarm since their argument started.

“Even though you’re definitely wrong, I will concede that we are at a stalemate.” Oscar said with a shake of his head but it didn't appear as though Andy was paying him any more attention. He was looking at the very end of the counter at who they both knew to be the owner. The man looked to be in his mid 50s, greying hair and had a nice smile.

“He’s cute.” Andy said to Oscar before looking back down at his drink. Oscar looked over and rolled his eyes. Yes he was. Oscar had immediately noticed him the first time he’d come here a few years back. They always smiled politely at each other but never had more than a brief conversation. 

“Okay…” Oscar wasn’t sure where Andy was going with this but he probably wasn’t going to like it.

“When was the last time you went out on a date?” Andy asked curiously. 

“Oh, no no no.” Oscar shook his head. Andy looked at him in confusion. “The last time I allowed someone to set me up was the debacle with Matt from the warehouse. Thank you, no.” Oscar shook his head in adamant refusal. 

“No, that’s not what I…” Andy’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I can get my own dates. I appreciate it, but I don’t need a wingman.” Oscar interrupted. The memory of Andy trying to get him a “hook up” with those two guys in Canada immediately came to mind and he knew he had to stop Andy before he made an ass out of himself again. 

“Oscar, I wasn’t...” Andy almost knocked over his drink in a rush to explain as Oscar abruptly stood up.

“Fine. I’ll talk to him on my own. Without your introduction.” Oscar walked towards the counter and the beautiful man behind it as Andy watched on in stunned silence.

He should’ve listened to his instincts because that lasted about two awkward dates before Oscar was ghosted. The worst part of it all was that he really liked the coffee there and now he had to go to a different coffee shop two blocks out of his way that got his order wrong almost half the time. He decided from then on that he would ignore any attempts Andy made to find him a date for the rest of his life.

A knock on Oscar’s door caused him to jump in his chair. “One minute.” He called out before putting the phone back to his ear.

“I’m about to run to a meeting.” Oscar explained as he stood and straightened out his clothes.

“No rest for the wicked, eh, Sonny _Bro_ no?” Andy responded in amusement.

“Sonny Bono was a Congressman, not a Senator.” Oscar pointed out.

“Alright then... “ There was a very very long moment of silence. “ _Bro_ seph Guffey!” 

“Did you just google Pennsylvania senators named Joe?” Oscar asked incredulously.

“No…” Andy replied clearly on speakerphone now which only proved Oscar’s case further.

“If you kept scrolling you would’ve seen there was a Senator called Richard Brodhead.” Andy let out a gasp but Oscar didn’t let him interrupt. “So long, Andy!” Oscar said firmly and hung up the phone. He’d long given up trying to get him to stop with his nicknames and puns. 

Walking out of his office Oscar decided to put all thoughts of Dunder Mifflin and the people who worked there aside to concentrate on the second half of his horrendously busy day. As luck would have it, his busy day turned into a busy week, and then an even busier three weeks. It wasn’t until he got home and crashed on his couch on a very late Friday that he realized he hadn’t heard from Andy in a while. Though to be fair, that wasn’t completely out of the ordinary for them. Sometimes if he was busy listening to his colleagues drone on during Senate meetings, or for Andy during the busy admissions months, they could go a month without a word.

He turned on his tv and flipped through the channels mindlessly. He looked over at the time displayed on his cable box and sighed. It was after eleven and much too late to eat dinner at this point. He looked back up at the tv to see that he landed on some god awful movie that was possibly meant for teens or people with no taste. There was currently a dance battle happening and Oscar found himself saying “No one does this in real life” aloud at the screen.

He stilled as the words left his mouth as a vague thought sparked in his head. He had seen a dance battle before. If he closed his eyes he could almost see a spinning chair. Was there a spinning chair? He was pretty sure Kelly was involved because that’s the kind of thing she would absolutely be involved in. He was pretty sure she was dancing with Andy, but it also could’ve been Michael. God, he really needed to make an appointment with his primary care doctor. His memory was getting worse and worse each year that passed. 

He looked at the time again and debated whether or not he should call. Tomorrow was Saturday so he knew Andy wouldn’t need to be up super early, but was 11:25pm too late? By 11:45 he said screw it and decided to send a text instead. At least if he was sleeping there would be a chance Andy wouldn’t hear his phone and would just respond in the morning.

 _‘Did you or Michael have a dance off with Kelly Kapoor?’_ Oscar typed and quickly hit send before he could change his mind.

Oscar tossed his phone next to him on the couch and rubbed his hands over his face. It had been such a long day. He really ought to go to bed. The ringing of his phone seconds later took him by surprise.

“Hey, Andy. Sorry if I woke you.” Oscar answered his phone tentatively.

“Oscarino! Those were some of my best moves! How could you _**possibly**_ forget that?” Andy not only sounded wide awake. He also sounded a bit offended.

“I didn’t say I forgot. I just couldn’t remember who was involved or if it was just some weird dream I had.” Oscar defended himself.

“You dream about me a lot then?” Andy said in that same teasing voice he used sometimes when he called him _‘Senator Martinez.’_

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Oscar choked out.

“Protest all thee like, but I distinctly remember you yelling at me to take my shirt off.” Oscar nearly dropped the phone into his lap, completely mortified. 

_Oh God! He had done that hadn’t he? It all came rushing back. How absolutely humiliating. There was only one thing to be done, flat out deny deny deny._

“Please, that never happened.” Oscar scoffed. 

“Wow. Political life has changed you, my friend.”

“What does that mean?”

“I almost believed that lie.”

“What are you doing up so late anyway? I didn’t expect you to answer my text.” Oscar quickly changed the subject. Andy let out a small laugh as he let Oscar get away with the deflection. 

“I was reading, I’ll have you know.” Andy said as he flipped through the pages quickly with his thumb so Oscar could hear it.

“Hmm. I didn’t really see you as a reading for pleasure kind of guy.” Oscar looked over at the stack of untouched novels that were sitting on his coffee table. 

“I cannot believe you just said that to me after I spent a literal **MONTH** trying to get into the Finer Things Club!” Andy all but shouted. 

“Oh, God. I forgot all about that.” Oscar winced. He felt like he was saying the wrong thing at every turn. 

“The worst part of it all is that you let **TUNA** in and not me. I read the books every week, Oscar, but you all refused to let me even sit in the room!” 

“Okay, I agree. We should’ve never let Jim in, that was a huge mistake.” 

“Damn right it was!”

“In my defense, after you made a case for yourself with your… letter of reference…”

“When I gave you all $150, I remember.”

“Pam and I were going to let you in. We were even going to get hard cover books with the money. But Toby was completely against it and it had to be a unanimous decision.” 

“I’m sure letting Tuna in was super unanimous.” He could hear the pout in Andy’s voice and scrambled for a response. 

“If it makes you feel any better the one and only time Jim came it was truly awful.” 

“You’re just saying that.”

“No, I’m serious. He thought the main character of Angela’s Ashes were the ashes.” Oscar made a face at the memory.

“What? Everyone knows it was Frankie!” Andy raised his voice. Oscar felt a pang of regret hit him suddenly. While he knew in his gut that Andy’s reasons for wanting to join the Finer Things Club weren’t exactly for the most noble of reasons they still should’ve let him in. It was wrong of them to exclude him, especially since it was clear even at the time that he had read the books. He never thought he’d agree with the man, but Michael was right. Toby really was the worst.

“Mistakes were made.” Oscar agreed. “I promise the next exclusive club I join you’ll have an open invitation as my plus one.”

“Aw, thanks, Oscar.” Andy said sweetly into the phone. “Quick question though. Will I be allowed to keep my shirt on?”

“Unbelievable.” Oscar responded into his empty living room. “I’m hanging up now.”

“I know you remember it!” Andy shot back quickly.

“Goodnight, Andy.”

“Goodnight, Oscar.”

Oscar hung up his phone and lay his head back against his couch. He had no idea what was going on with them lately. Somewhere in the last six months their conversations seemed charged with an energy that definitely wasn’t there when they worked together. At least he was pretty sure it wasn’t. He just couldn’t wrap his mind around Andy’s side of things. Other than the one incident of Andy coming to him because of the rumor about him being gay, he never got any sense that Andy was interested in men. 

It’s not like Oscar was interested in anything other than friendship with him anyway. It’s just that he had gotten to know Andy a lot more in the last few years and he felt a bit of friendly affection toward him. In the same way he’d be affectionate toward any friend who went out of their way to make him laugh during a really stressful day. Or who learned to play his favorite song on three different instruments just in case one day all electricity stopped working and Oscar really needed to hear it. 

God, Andy was right. He was becoming an unbelievable liar. He was a busy man with an important job, but he still made the almost four hour drive to Ithaca to check out Andy’s new apartment. He never would’ve done that for just anyone and Andy wasn’t just anyone to him anymore. 

If you had told him over ten years ago when he first saw Andy punch a hole in a wall that this man was going to end up becoming one of his closest friends he would’ve asked Creed what he snuck into the coffee. There were still hints of the old Andy that would pop out when he got overly excited about something, or let his anger get the best of him, but there was a confidence about him now that he only pretended to have before when he was a terrible paper salesman. He was so much different than the wound up, angry man that he worked with all of those years ago. It was hard not to like the person that Andy had become.

Therein lay Oscar’s problem. He did like him. Probably more than he should like a straight man who was just his friend. He had reluctantly come to terms with the fact that he found Andy attractive almost a year ago when they met up for lunch in Oscar’s office. Andy said he was making the drive down to restring Philip’s banjo and wouldn’t mind driving the extra hour to try the new sandwich shop that Oscar had been raving about. Between bites of his food Andy complained about the new grey hairs that started to really make themselves known in the last few months. Oscar tuned out his rant after a few minutes and found himself paying closer attention to how the slight bits of grey brought out the blue in Andy’s eyes. He hadn’t realized he was staring until he heard the words ‘dye it’ and he snapped out of it.

“Absolutely not.” Oscar shook his head.

“It’ll shave ten years off at least!” Andy lifted Oscar’s name plate and tried to use it as a mirror.

“Or you could end up looking like Creed when he dyed his hair black.” Oscar reminded him.

Andy looked at him in confusion as he tried to remember that happening. It took another minute or so before he got there and his eyes widened. He put the name plate back on the desk and picked up his sandwich.

“Maybe you’re right.” Andy bit into his sandwich and Oscar felt the weird tension at the very thought of Andy dying his hair leave his shoulders. 

They didn’t get to see each other as often as usual in the months following so when it was his turn to visit Andy six months ago he had fully put that brief moment of insanity out of his head. That was until he saw how happy Andy was at his job at Cornell. He’d visited him in Ithaca before, but never at work. He was clearly very well liked by students and staff. He'd be lying if he didn't find Andy's confidence in coaching the young men on how to approach specific runs extremely attractive. 

He shouldn’t have been surprised to see how good Andy was with the newest members of Here Comes Treble considering how gentle and patient Andy was with Philip, despite his parents' feelings about him. It was a nice change from the previous alumni who didn’t seem to have any respect for him at all when Andy brought them to Dunder Mifflin over Halloween. He honestly believed Andy when he insisted Broccoli Rob did his best to poison Andy’s legacy.

Oscar briefly regretted telling Andy the name of his favorite song when the group started to sing it. Andy gave Oscar a teasing grin to which Oscar rolled his eyes but smiled back and mouthed the words. He wasn’t aware that you could make fun of a person's music tastes through collegiate a cappella but here they were. It was a nice performance though and they all really seemed to look up to and admire Andy. They pointedly went out of their way to tell Oscar how great of a guy Andy was after their rehearsal. 

The thing is, Andy was great. And in another life maybe they could’ve been great together. However, in this life they would stay good friends and that was that. Even if there was the slightest possibility that Andy was interested in him he was much too old to handhold a middle aged man through his first gay relationship. It was for the best that they’d just stay exactly as they were. 

That was the plan anyway until he got a call from Andy the week after their late night chat, which wasn’t too strange other than the fact that Andy hadn’t texted him first before calling. In the three years they had been talking now, Andy always texted before calling if he was initiating a conversation. Something about being paranoid about interrupting Oscar when he was busy in meetings. Whatever was stuck in his head this time must be pretty urgent if he went straight to the phone call.

“Hello?” Oscar put the phone on speaker and put it on his bed as he folded his laundry.

“You and me. Le Cafe Cent-Dix. Good food, even better wine...” Andy's voice trailed off.

Oscar tried to think. They’d gone for dinner a few times, but he couldn’t ever remember any of them being French restaurants. “That never happened.”

Andy was silent for a very long time and Oscar was beginning to think he hung up before Andy spoke again. “It could.”

Oscar’s mouth opened and closed but no words would come out. He couldn’t possibly mean that the way it sounded. He put a shirt back into the basket and slowly sat down on the bed, picking up his phone as Andy continued. 

“You don’t have to come all the way up here. We could meet up in Scranton. See the old sights…”

“Andy...” Oscar closed his eyes and tried to cut in but Andy kept talking. 

“It’s not a big deal. I just walked by it the other night and thought, I bet my good pal Oscar would enjoy this.” Andy joked, but Oscar could hear the strain in his voice. He had definitely worked himself up to have this conversation. As much as it killed him, he had to stick to his guns on this one. 

“I can’t be your Brad Pitt fantasy.” Oscar responded gently.

“You remember that? Ugh.” Andy let out a noise of disgust.

“Of course I remember that. It was one of the most ridiculous things you’ve ever said to me.” Oscar remembered the conversation as clearly as if they’d had it yesterday. He remembered his own reaction as well. And just as it was true then, it was equally true now. This can’t possibly fall to him.

“That’s not true. I’ve said way more ridiculous things to you.” 

“That’s not the point.” Oscar let out a sigh that he hoped Andy didn’t hear.

“What _**is**_ the point?” Andy sounded hurt **and** annoyed now which was the exact opposite of what Oscar intended. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt him, or himself for that matter.

“I can’t be your first foray into…” Andy’s laughter brought a frown to Oscar’s face. “Oh, Andy. Is this one of your weird pranks that I don’t understand?”

“Oscar.” Andy said with a fondness in his tone. “I’ve been exclusively dating men for the last 2 years. Well, I also dated Nicole for a bit too but we never slept together.” 

Oscar’s breath caught in his throat at what that statement implied.

“So… you didn’t with Nicole. But you have…” He trailed off. 

“Slept with men. Yessir. The 'Nard Dog is equal opportunity these days.”

“I…” Oscar searched for a response to that but found himself struggling. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He finally landed on.

“I’ve been dropping hints for over a year! For such a smart guy you’re incredibly dumb sometimes.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Oscar asked, he could feel the beginnings of an intense headache coming on. 

“The coffee shop? When you blew up at me and then asked out whatshisface before you got banned?” Andy said as though that answered everything and didn’t just confuse Oscar more.

“His name was Tom, and I did not get banned from the coffee shop. It was a mutual decision that I just never go there again. And what are you even talking about? You definitely pushed me to ask him out!” Oscar recalled. 

“I did not!” Andy responded loudly. Oscar ran his hand through his hair in frustration, feeling like he was missing something here.

“You told me he was cute and then asked me when was the last time I went on a date!” 

“Yeah, I was trying to subtly imply that I liked guys.” Andy responded back. Oscar stopped talking as he let that settle. 

“You may have been a bit too subtle.” He said after a minute.

“Then when you came to visit me at Cornell and Here Comes Treble spent the whole time telling you how much of a catch I am and then we performed your favorite song! How could you possibly not have gotten what I was doing?”

Suddenly it all made sense. How Andy’s shy awkwardness when he spent the night at his new apartment wasn’t just him trying to make sure Oscar was comfortable. He was trying to work up the nerve to make a move. When he and the a cappella group performed for him, he was singing _to_ him. And when Oscar told him he didn’t need a wingman to ask out Tom, Andy wasn’t upset that he wasn’t needed, he was upset that Oscar completely misinterpreted the situation and asked another man out in front of him. He felt like such an idiot. 

“Just so we’re clear, since subtle didn’t work, how about I spell it out?” Andy interrupted Oscar’s inner crisis.

“Please do.” 

“I like you. A lot. And I want to take you to dinner. Not as friends. Like, on an actual date. And if it goes like I hope it does I would like to kiss you at the end of that date.”

“Because you like me?” Oscar responded but his throat felt unbelievably dry.

“Because I like you.” Andy confirmed. 

“Okay.” Oscar said finally.

“Okay?” Andy repeated, his voice going up in surprise.

“Yes. I am pretty busy for the next two weeks but I can find some time the week after to drive up there.” Oscar said in a daze.

“Always so busy, Senator Martinez.” The teasing tone returned to Andy’s voice. 

“Do you have any idea what it does to me when you say that?” Oscar breathed out and then covered his mouth, mortified for letting that slip.

“I clued into that a while ago, actually.” Andy said with amusement. 

“Right.” Oscar nodded. “Look, um… I have some things to get done around here, but I’ll call you next week after my schedule is finalized and we’ll figure something out.

“No problemo. Take all the time you need.” Andy’s words were pleasant but there was a bit of worry in his voice as well like Oscar was going to blow him off.

“I will call.” Oscar said firmly. “I’ll talk to you soon, alright?”

“Great. Talk to you then, or whenever. I’ll be here.” Andy laughed awkwardly.

Oscar ended the call and tried to make a mental list of everything that he had to do this coming week but his mind went blank. Andy had just dropped a bomb on him and he wasn’t sure how he’d be able to function without really processing everything.

Andy had been dating other men for a while now. Andy liked him as more than a friend. Oscar couldn’t wrap his mind around this. Four days later while he was sitting at his desk at work he still couldn’t wrap his mind around it. So much so that he rescheduled his Thursday and Friday meetings and found himself driving up I-476 to Ithaca at 9pm and knocking on Andy’s door a little after 1 in the morning. As soon as his knuckles rapped against the door he froze. 

_What the hell was he doing? He was supposed to call. He should’ve called. Or texted. Or emailed. Who drives over 200 miles and just shows up at someone's house in the middle of the night?_

A million thoughts ran through Oscar’s mind and had the door not opened seconds later he would’ve immediately gotten back into his car and made the long drive home. Andy stood there gaping at him in surprise. His hair was mussed, pointing upward in several directions, and his shirt was riding up a bit. He had clearly just woken up.

“Oscar! What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you. I just didn’t…” Andy stammered tiredly. He looked at him like he was still asleep and this was all a dream.

“I am so sorry.” Oscar apologized. “I should go. I shouldn’t have just…” 

“No no.” Andy opened his door wider. “Come in.” Oscar entered the apartment and froze when Andy closed the door behind him. They stood there awkwardly for a moment before Oscar spoke.

“I am sorry for just showing up. I hope this is okay.” Oscar looked around at everything except Andy.

“Casa de Bernard is always open for my best bud.” Andy looked to be treading carefully with him. He must look like a mess but charged on.

“I know you said you wanted to go out on a date first, but I think that would be a mistake.” Oscar blurted. Andy looked at him hurt and confused.

“You drove all the way up here to tell me that dating me would be a mistake?” Andy asked with a frown.

Oscar shook his head. “No. Waiting for two weeks and a date before kissing you would be a mistake.” Andy’s eyes shot wide open at Oscar’s words. After a moment he nodded and halved the distance between them.

“You must be really good at your job, Senator Martinez. You’ve convinced me and have my vote of approval.” Andy smiled and Oscar took a step closer until he was inches away.

“That was really smooth with the a cappella group and the song.” Oscar said nervously as Andy’s eyes seemed to be staring at his lips.

“I tried to get Philip to learn it but Angela said she would not have her son be used as a tool in my new life of sin.” Andy smiled and gave a small shrug. 

_Damn. I like him so much._

“If you really wanted to wait until after the date that’s fine but I really…” Oscar didn’t finish as Andy leaned down and pressed his lips against Oscar’s. He could feel Andy’s smile against his mouth and it should’ve felt awkward but it didn’t. He let out a soft sigh into Andy's mouth when he felt his hand move to Oscar lower back.

When they pulled away Oscar looked up at Andy with disbelief. They could’ve been doing this for a year. Probably even longer if Oscar wasn’t so deep in denial about him. “Is it terrible that I’m a bit annoyed by how good of a kisser you are?”

“That’s not all I’m good at.” Andy wiggled his eyebrows. "They don't call me the Boner Champ for nothin'" Oscar knew he was tired because he actually laughed at that which quickly turned into a yawn. Everything suddenly hit him at once and he never felt more exhausted and relieved at once.

“Come on, I’ll set you up in the guest room and we’ll talk in the morning.” Andy grabbed Oscar’s hand and pulled him towards the spare bedroom. He grabbed a few extra pillows and placed them on the bed before turning to give Oscar another kiss, this one a bit deeper than the last.

“Goodnight, Oscar.” Andy cleared his throat and stepped away.

“Goodnight, Andy.” He responded as Andy closed the door behind him. Oscar looked over at the bed and back at the door twice before making his second impulsive decision of the day by following after Andy. He didn’t have to go far. He opened the door and Andy stood two feet away with a huge grin on his face, his fits raised in the air. He dropped his arms and his smile as soon as he noticed Oscar standing in the doorway.

“Pretend you didn’t just see that.” Andy said in embarrassment. Oscar nodded and debated his next words before just blurting it out.

“We don’t have to do anything, and I don’t think I could right now even if I wanted to, but is it okay if I…” Oscar trailed off and glanced towards Andy’s room. Andy’s smile returned as he nodded. Oscar let out a breath of relief and followed Andy into his bedroom. Andy wordlessly handed Oscar a pair of sweatpants and a Cornell t-shirt and left him alone to change. 

_Everything will be fine. Just breathe._ Oscar repeated to himself a few times before Andy returned and they both crawled into bed and shut off the lights. It was quiet for several long moments before Andy spoke.

“Hey Oscar?”

“Yeah?” Oscar responded sleepily.

“I like you way more than Brad Pitt.” Andy admitted. 

“Thank you, Andy.” It was ridiculous but it made Oscar smile. Before he felt himself drift off he whispered, “I did yell at you to take your shirt off.”

“I KNEW IT!”


End file.
